March 28th, 2011

PESD releases cutting-edge study on the future of Australia's coal market

Critical challenges now facing the industry are poised to determine whether Australia will continue to be the globe's largest coal supplier.

• » Australia's Black Coal Industry: Past Achievements and Future Challenges

March 14th, 2011

Wolak Speaking on Advance Hydro Modeling Panel

PESD Director Frank Wolak will be speaking during the Advance Hydro Modeling Part II session of the "Workshop on Modeling of Hydro Services in the Western US" host by EPRI and Sandia National Laboratories from March 14-15, 2011. The goal of this workshop is to discuss state-of-the-art modeling of hydro resources in the Western grid, and solicit input from key industry stakeholders on approaches to capturing the full value and market participation of existing and future hydroelectric plants.

• » Frank Wolak

March 1st, 2011

Thurber quoted in Jakarta Post

In order for Indonesia to meet its increasing domestic demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG), the country (one of the largest LNG producers) is gearing up to start importing up to 4.5 million tons of LNG annually. Read more »

February 9th, 2011

Morse speaks at State Department seminar on global development and climate change

Richard Morse discussed how to reconcile global development goals -- which often rely on coal -- with US climate objectives at a US Department of State event on February 10th. Read more »

February 8th, 2011

Wolak's climate op-ed featured in the UK Guardian

PESD Director Frank Wolak explain how the unknown price tag of carbon and uncertainty of US National climate policy are impeding on investments for oil substitutes.

• » UK Guardian: "The Cost of Climate Policy Uncertainty"

January 28th, 2011

The future of U.S. energy technology lies in regulation states Wolak in The Stanford Daily

The United States should focus on innovation in energy technology now and then transition to a regulatory role once the technology has been sufficiently developed, Frank Wolak argued online in The New York Times this month.

• » Stanford Daily: "Prof says future of U.S. energy technology lies in regulation, not production"

January 21st, 2011

PESD receives $100K in research funding from EPRI

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) awarded $100K to fund PESD's research project on "Transmission Planning to Support Renewable Energy at Scale and Enhance Wholesale Electricity Competition."

January 20th, 2011

Wolak's comment to NYT's Room for Debate question: "Can the U.S. Compete with China on Green Tech?"

PESD Director Frank Wolak participated in the New York Times’ Room for Debate about whether the U.S. can compete with China on green tech and the obstacles facing American companies trying to win the front on clean energy in the global market.

• » The New York Times Room for Debate

January 4th, 2011

Wolak quoted in CNN Money on high US gas prices and its profitability in the West

Gasoline prices fluctuate within the U.S. partly because the West requires cleaner fuel (a more expensive gas mixture) than other parts of the country. There are a limited number of refineries capable of making the specific mixture required for the Western gas market and as a result, the few capable refineries are profiting from the less competitive market.

• » CNN Money: "Why gas costs more --and is more profitable-- out West"

January 3rd, 2011

Wolak and Morse's op-ed in the UK Guardian argue that China's record coal imports are actually helping the climate

PESD Director Frank Wolak and Research Associate Richard Morse's op-ed in the UK's Guardian, "China's green gift to the world", argues that China's record coal imports actually contribute to reductions -not increases- of global CO2 emissions.

• » The Guardian: "China's green gift to the world"

PESD study on China's effort to restructure its coal market featured by Bloomberg and Platts

Platts and Bloomberg News highlighted key findings from the recent PESD report, "Remaking the World's Largest Coal Market: The Quest to Develop Large Coal-Power Bases in China".

• » JPU settles half of 2011 Australian thermal contract at $115/mt: source